Did anyone have problems with swelling after labor? Maybe I have been reading too much about it! Or did you find that your body pretty much started eliminating excess water immediately after?

I've only done this once before, but I remember that it took a few days for my body to eliminate the swelling/water weight. I remember coming home and noticing that my ankles and feet still looked swollen (and I definitely remember it at the hospital), though not as badly as during pregnancy. Probably by 5 or 6 days postpartum it was pretty much gone, if I remember correctly.

Hi, mind if I join? Im Carrie Im 31 and being induced with my 4th, a boy, on may 8th due to health reasons. (I have a massive DVT in my leg and am on blood thinners for it ) I have 2 daughters ages 7 and 2 and a son who passed away at 5 months just over 5 years ago to HLHS, a heart defect. Im obese and have well over 100lbs to lose after baby!!!

I have CRAZY swelling in my leg with the clot!!! It goes down quite a bit as long as I exercise every day, drink plenty of water, eat a banana every day (potassiums good for swelling) and then prop it up. I am up about 18lbs of actual weight the rest is all from my leg swelling unfortunately. And since Im being induced, ill have pitocin in me which makes me swell worse so Im going to stay off the scales for about a week after giving birth so I dont get discouraged!!

I will no longer need my thinner for my clot after giving birth, yay!! no more shots twice a day!!

oh and I contract on a daily basis now especially after exercising!! Im 1.5cm as of last tuesday cant wait to see where i am monday a.m

so I'll try not to be too verbose with my birth plan I could go on and on it was such a great experience! I had heard so many time about how hard it is to go natural in the hospital and so many horror stories but we had the perfect staff and everything was great!

The morning of her due date my mom and I went to get our nails done and do some shopping. All of my sisters kids were late and I was feeling pretty good so I figured it wouldn't be that day. At about 3 I decided I didn't have energy for anymore running around so we went home and picked up my hubby before going to dinner. We went to hibachi grill and while there I was having to stop every once in a while because of waves of cramps. By the time we got hom I was starting to think it might be "it." So we watched a movie and the pains got stronger and every time I went to the bathroom there was blood so I decided it was time to head to start thinking about heading to the hospital so we went for a walk, made sure we had everything we needed and headed out. I would have liked to birth at home some more but the hospital is an hour away so I'm glad we left when we did. I would ahve been miserable sitting in a car while contractions we stronger.

The nurse checked me and looked at me and said "honey, you're closed" for a moment I was crushed before she said "j/k you are about 5 cm" so they admitted me and I was able to use their amazing shower she had 3 shower heads one that went perfectly onto the small of my back where all the pain was. Anyway, fast forward, they made me get out because the monitors weren't working so I couldn't use the shower the rest of the time which totally bummed me out but my husband was an amazing trooper. He held my hand, rubbed my back, and let me hang off of him when contractions were real bad. I few hours later they checked me and I was only 5/6 cm and when they checked me again I still had failed to progress so they broke my water. That was a scare because the babies heart rate spiked so they put me on oxygen and fluids and got an internal monitor and of course weren't telling me anything during all of this. Things stabilized quickly though so we were able to continue as things progressed. Right as the pain was getting to be too much to bear I started to feel like I wanted to push and pushing was a definite relief! Between contractions and pushing I gave myself and the baby little pep talks (my husband said I sounded like a football coach). I was kneeling on the bed with my arms over the back of the bed, this seemed most comfortable to me and hubs was standing right behind the bed where he could hold my hands and make eye contact. After about 45 min of pushing the midwife recommended I turn around and lay on my side but I resisted because anytime they had my laying down it hurt like crazy so I really didn't want to be in more pain. However, when I finally gave it, that position felt so good and she was born 10 minutes later. It was so funny because the midwife said "ok, here comes her head " and we all were just expecting her head but I guess I was motivated because her whole body shot out and barely caught her. They passed her right too me and she was a beautiful 7lbs 3.8oz with a full head of hair. I instantly forgot about the 14 proceeding hours of pain.

Throughout the whole thing no one mentioned an epidural (a request I made in my birth plan and I was told by many nurses "I'm sure they will at least offer it, but hopefully they won't push it") I never even heard the words. I was able to move around the room as I wanted and everyone was sooooooo supportive. I seriously had the best "team" (my mom, husband, doula and the midwife) and the nurses we amazing too.

While I was pregnant I was so upset about the stretch marks and how my body was changing but then I got this beautiful little baby who I love and adore and when I look at my stretch marks I see a badge of honor that helped me bring my perfect little girl into the world. Today I think we finally got breastfeeding down well so I'm hoping that means I might get some sleep tonight. We'll see how it goes

so I'll try not to be too verbose with my birth plan I could go on and on it was such a great experience! I had heard so many time about how hard it is to go natural in the hospital and so many horror stories but we had the perfect staff and everything was great!

The morning of her due date my mom and I went to get our nails done and do some shopping. All of my sisters kids were late and I was feeling pretty good so I figured it wouldn't be that day. At about 3 I decided I didn't have energy for anymore running around so we went home and picked up my hubby before going to dinner. We went to hibachi grill and while there I was having to stop every once in a while because of waves of cramps. By the time we got hom I was starting to think it might be "it." So we watched a movie and the pains got stronger and every time I went to the bathroom there was blood so I decided it was time to head to start thinking about heading to the hospital so we went for a walk, made sure we had everything we needed and headed out. I would have liked to birth at home some more but the hospital is an hour away so I'm glad we left when we did. I would ahve been miserable sitting in a car while contractions we stronger.

The nurse checked me and looked at me and said "honey, you're closed" for a moment I was crushed before she said "j/k you are about 5 cm" so they admitted me and I was able to use their amazing shower she had 3 shower heads one that went perfectly onto the small of my back where all the pain was. Anyway, fast forward, they made me get out because the monitors weren't working so I couldn't use the shower the rest of the time which totally bummed me out but my husband was an amazing trooper. He held my hand, rubbed my back, and let me hang off of him when contractions were real bad. I few hours later they checked me and I was only 5/6 cm and when they checked me again I still had failed to progress so they broke my water. That was a scare because the babies heart rate spiked so they put me on oxygen and fluids and got an internal monitor and of course weren't telling me anything during all of this. Things stabilized quickly though so we were able to continue as things progressed. Right as the pain was getting to be too much to bear I started to feel like I wanted to push and pushing was a definite relief! Between contractions and pushing I gave myself and the baby little pep talks (my husband said I sounded like a football coach). I was kneeling on the bed with my arms over the back of the bed, this seemed most comfortable to me and hubs was standing right behind the bed where he could hold my hands and make eye contact. After about 45 min of pushing the midwife recommended I turn around and lay on my side but I resisted because anytime they had my laying down it hurt like crazy so I really didn't want to be in more pain. However, when I finally gave it, that position felt so good and she was born 10 minutes later. It was so funny because the midwife said "ok, here comes her head " and we all were just expecting her head but I guess I was motivated because her whole body shot out and barely caught her. They passed her right too me and she was a beautiful 7lbs 3.8oz with a full head of hair. I instantly forgot about the 14 proceeding hours of pain.

Throughout the whole thing no one mentioned an epidural (a request I made in my birth plan and I was told by many nurses "I'm sure they will at least offer it, but hopefully they won't push it") I never even heard the words. I was able to move around the room as I wanted and everyone was sooooooo supportive. I seriously had the best "team" (my mom, husband, doula and the midwife) and the nurses we amazing too.

While I was pregnant I was so upset about the stretch marks and how my body was changing but then I got this beautiful little baby who I love and adore and when I look at my stretch marks I see a badge of honor that helped me bring my perfect little girl into the world. Today I think we finally got breastfeeding down well so I'm hoping that means I might get some sleep tonight. We'll see how it goes

Awh! Emily CONGRATS! I'm so glad you got the L&D you wanted :happy:

so I'll try not to be too verbose with my birth plan I could go on and on it was such a great experience! I had heard so many time about how hard it is to go natural in the hospital and so many horror stories but we had the perfect staff and everything was great!

The morning of her due date my mom and I went to get our nails done and do some shopping. All of my sisters kids were late and I was feeling pretty good so I figured it wouldn't be that day. At about 3 I decided I didn't have energy for anymore running around so we went home and picked up my hubby before going to dinner. We went to hibachi grill and while there I was having to stop every once in a while because of waves of cramps. By the time we got hom I was starting to think it might be "it." So we watched a movie and the pains got stronger and every time I went to the bathroom there was blood so I decided it was time to head to start thinking about heading to the hospital so we went for a walk, made sure we had everything we needed and headed out. I would have liked to birth at home some more but the hospital is an hour away so I'm glad we left when we did. I would ahve been miserable sitting in a car while contractions we stronger.

The nurse checked me and looked at me and said "honey, you're closed" for a moment I was crushed before she said "j/k you are about 5 cm" so they admitted me and I was able to use their amazing shower she had 3 shower heads one that went perfectly onto the small of my back where all the pain was. Anyway, fast forward, they made me get out because the monitors weren't working so I couldn't use the shower the rest of the time which totally bummed me out but my husband was an amazing trooper. He held my hand, rubbed my back, and let me hang off of him when contractions were real bad. I few hours later they checked me and I was only 5/6 cm and when they checked me again I still had failed to progress so they broke my water. That was a scare because the babies heart rate spiked so they put me on oxygen and fluids and got an internal monitor and of course weren't telling me anything during all of this. Things stabilized quickly though so we were able to continue as things progressed. Right as the pain was getting to be too much to bear I started to feel like I wanted to push and pushing was a definite relief! Between contractions and pushing I gave myself and the baby little pep talks (my husband said I sounded like a football coach). I was kneeling on the bed with my arms over the back of the bed, this seemed most comfortable to me and hubs was standing right behind the bed where he could hold my hands and make eye contact. After about 45 min of pushing the midwife recommended I turn around and lay on my side but I resisted because anytime they had my laying down it hurt like crazy so I really didn't want to be in more pain. However, when I finally gave it, that position felt so good and she was born 10 minutes later. It was so funny because the midwife said "ok, here comes her head " and we all were just expecting her head but I guess I was motivated because her whole body shot out and barely caught her. They passed her right too me and she was a beautiful 7lbs 3.8oz with a full head of hair. I instantly forgot about the 14 proceeding hours of pain.

Throughout the whole thing no one mentioned an epidural (a request I made in my birth plan and I was told by many nurses "I'm sure they will at least offer it, but hopefully they won't push it") I never even heard the words. I was able to move around the room as I wanted and everyone was sooooooo supportive. I seriously had the best "team" (my mom, husband, doula and the midwife) and the nurses we amazing too.

While I was pregnant I was so upset about the stretch marks and how my body was changing but then I got this beautiful little baby who I love and adore and when I look at my stretch marks I see a badge of honor that helped me bring my perfect little girl into the world. Today I think we finally got breastfeeding down well so I'm hoping that means I might get some sleep tonight. We'll see how it goes

Yaaaay! I'm so glad you shared your story - thank you! I'm so glad, too, that things went pretty smoothly and that no one pushed the epidural on you, since I know you didn't want it. You sound like me, though, where once you started pushing, it was no time until you had your baby! I was so grateful not to have to push for very long. I'm hoping things go as smoothly this time.

Congratulations again!

Hi, mind if I join? Im Carrie Im 31 and being induced with my 4th, a boy, on may 8th due to health reasons. (I have a massive DVT in my leg and am on blood thinners for it ) I have 2 daughters ages 7 and 2 and a son who passed away at 5 months just over 5 years ago to HLHS, a heart defect. Im obese and have well over 100lbs to lose after baby!!!

I have CRAZY swelling in my leg with the clot!!! It goes down quite a bit as long as I exercise every day, drink plenty of water, eat a banana every day (potassiums good for swelling) and then prop it up. I am up about 18lbs of actual weight the rest is all from my leg swelling unfortunately. And since Im being induced, ill have pitocin in me which makes me swell worse so Im going to stay off the scales for about a week after giving birth so I dont get discouraged!!

I will no longer need my thinner for my clot after giving birth, yay!! no more shots twice a day!!

oh and I contract on a daily basis now especially after exercising!! Im 1.5cm as of last tuesday cant wait to see where i am monday a.m

Hi there! Welcome, and congratulations!

I'm so sorry to hear about your prior loss and hope everything goes smoothly this time. I'm sure the shots are no fun, and you are probably ready to meet your baby and focus on yourself (well, kinda). What is your original due date?

Also, you might want to check out the Post-Partum Pack (I joined early as preparation): http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/639-post-partum-pack

Keep us posted on how you're doing!

Rebecca

Hi, mind if I join? Im Carrie Im 31 and being induced with my 4th, a boy, on may 8th due to health reasons. (I have a massive DVT in my leg and am on blood thinners for it ) I have 2 daughters ages 7 and 2 and a son who passed away at 5 months just over 5 years ago to HLHS, a heart defect. Im obese and have well over 100lbs to lose after baby!!!

I have CRAZY swelling in my leg with the clot!!! It goes down quite a bit as long as I exercise every day, drink plenty of water, eat a banana every day (potassiums good for swelling) and then prop it up. I am up about 18lbs of actual weight the rest is all from my leg swelling unfortunately. And since Im being induced, ill have pitocin in me which makes me swell worse so Im going to stay off the scales for about a week after giving birth so I dont get discouraged!!

I will no longer need my thinner for my clot after giving birth, yay!! no more shots twice a day!!

oh and I contract on a daily basis now especially after exercising!! Im 1.5cm as of last tuesday cant wait to see where i am monday a.m

Hi there! Welcome, and congratulations!

I'm so sorry to hear about your prior loss and hope everything goes smoothly this time. I'm sure the shots are no fun, and you are probably ready to meet your baby and focus on yourself (well, kinda). What is your original due date?

Also, you might want to check out the Post-Partum Pack (I joined early as preparation): http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/639-post-partum-pack

Keep us posted on how you're doing!

Rebecca

Thank you, I did join that group as well but have yet to post i enjoy reading everyones threads lol. MY original edd is 5/13 so im going in like a week early, the shots suck!!! I cant wait until i can stop them lol!!

in other news, i had my 37w appt today, didnt get a cervical check, kind of bummed but theres no reason for one since ive never gone before 40w on my own (membranes were swept at 39 with both my girls so i went bc of that) plus im getting induced, i will however be checked next monday to see how ripe i am bc they need to schedule me in for either the 7th for cervadil or the 8th for just pitocin so im hoping my cardio every day and squats/plies will help soften it

No news on here in a few days...How is everyone?

Nothing new here. The weekly Dr visits start next week for me. I'm sleepy approx all the time, and hoping for one final energy surge before this baby arrives. Cannot believe I'm in the final 5 weeks. All of my babies have been "right on time" as far as estimated due dates are concerned. My daughter got here exactly on her DD, and my son was born the day after his DD. So I'm betting this baby gets here May 31st, June 1st (actual DD) or June 2nd. There is a full moon towards the end of May (21st I think) wonder if that will have an effect on anyone here......

Hope everyone is well!

Now that my baby boy is almost a week old, I am finally sitting down to type my birth story....

I had been having crampy contractions for a couple of weeks, so I was just waiting for those contractions to turn into something real! My EDD was anywhere from the 15th to the 17th depending on which ultrasound that you went with, so when both of those days came and went, I started to get cranky. On Friday the 19th, I took the kids to the babysitter so I could have some down time with my hubby and make sure that my house was clean. I started having cramping around noon, and it stuck around for the afternoon. I kept cleaning and stayed on my feet hoping that this was the real deal. By dinner time, I was breathing and rocking through the waves (my term for contractions) and I text my midwife to let her know what was happening. She called me back and said that she would be over around 8:30, but if anything picked up or changed to give her a call. My midwife, Lisa arrived and shortly after her student midwife, Katelyn arrived as well. We chatted about how I was feeling and they went to my bedroom to ready their supplies. Katelyn checked me and I was 5 cm with a large bag of waters in front of my baby's head. My mother- in- law came to pick up my 2- year old son, and my mom came to hang out with my girls while I labored away. We were having big thunderstorms that nights, so in between the storms, my husband and I went for a walk to help bring on stronger contractions. We came backed soaked and laughing, and have some great pictures of us soaking wet after walking and laboring in the rain.
As my waves got stronger, I rocked and squatted throughout the night. I labored in the birthing tub while my husband rubbed my back, did nipple stimulation and aromatherapy with my in the bedroom. I was fully dilated by morning, but my bag of water was bulging and the baby's head was not descending. My midwives wanted to break my water, but didn't want to risk a cord prolapse, so while my midwife Lisa manually pushed my belly down during a contraction to lower the baby enough to prevent a prolapsed cord, Katelyn broke my water. They later joked about my "amniotic sac of steel" and everyone got a good laugh when Katelyn was covered head to toe in amniotic fluid! Only seconds after they broke my bag of water, I knew that the baby was ready and literally jumped from my bed to the birth tub. My girls came into the room at that point so they could see their brother's birth, and I got on my knees and hugged my husband as I pushed my baby out in only 4 minutes. I first saw his face under the water, and was amazed that his eyes were open, I pulled him to my chest and he just looked at me for a few seconds before he began to cry. I kept him warm on my chest until the cord stopped pulsating, and then my husband cut the cord. My midwives dried us off and tucked us into bed and he began nursing like a champ. Zachary Levi was born 4/20 at 7:12 am weighing 8 lbs 15 oz and 21 1/4 inches long. I had a beautiful home birth, and was so thankful to have such amazing midwives. Now I am in new baby bliss, and my daughters and son all love their new baby brother!

Yaaay, congratulations, Nikki! Thank you for sharing your story, too :flowerforyou: